Navy men don’t come tougher than Lieutenant Peter Greene. Every day he whips hotshot SEAL wannabes into elite fighters. So why can’t he handle one fifteen-year-old girl? His ex’s death left him a single dad overnight, and very unprepared. Though he can’t relate to an angsty teen, he can at least keep Maddie safe—until the day she disappears. Though Pete’s lacking in fatherly intuition, his instinct for detecting danger is razor sharp. Maddie’s in trouble. Now he needs the Troubleshooters team at his back, along with an unconventional ally.

Romance writer Shayla Whitman never expected to be drawn into a real-world thriller—or to meet a hero who makes her pulse pound. Action on the page is one thing. Actually living it is another story. Shay’s not as bold as her heroines, but she’s a mother. She sees the panic in her new neighbor’s usually fearless blue eyes—and knows there’s no greater terror for a parent than having a child at risk. It’s an ordeal Shay won’t let Pete face alone. She’s no highly trained operative, but she’s smart, resourceful, and knows what makes teenagers tick.

Still, working alongside Pete has its own perils—like letting the heat between them rise out of control. Intimate emotions could mean dangerous, even deadly, consequences for their mission. No matter what, they must be on top of their game, and playing for keeps . . . or else Pete’s daughter may be gone for good.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Troubleshooters book by Suzanne Brockmann so I was pretty excited to jump back into this world. I was hoping to catch up with all of the previous couples and there are quite a few of them around in Some Kind of Hero but to be honest, I miss the guys from the beginning of the series.

I miss Sam Starrett and Johnny Nilsson, though I don’t miss Nilsson’s wife Meg. I also miss Wildcard and Cosmo and just…those guys. They’ve all moved on from the Navy but for me, they were the guys that I loved so much that I kept coming back for more. I like the new guys fine but they just don’t compare to the older guys. My guys.

Anyway, on with the review…

Some Kind of Hero follows Lietenant Peter Greene and Shayla Whitman. Peter’s daughter has gone missing and Shayla gets roped into helping him by being at the right place when Peter needed a helping hand. Peter’s daughter Maddie gets herself wrapped up in some bad business and because she has no relationship with her Navy SEAL father, she doesn’t turn to him for help. She decides that she can handle taking on a drug lord all by her teenage self. sigh Too many times I wanted to punch Maddie in the throat for being so stupid.

Anyway, so Peter and Shayla are trying to track Maddie down because she’s missing and they’re piecing together what happened throughout the book with the help of Peter’s SEAL buddies Izzy Zanella, Mark Jenkins and a whole bunch of newbies that are all named John. It really takes a village to raise a child or in this case, find a missing child and the more I read, the more I got frustrated with a bunch of things.

Maddie. When the only person you have left in the world is your father, someone who has bent over backward trying to fix your broken relationship and is a Navy freaking SEAL, you turn to him for help when you’re framed for stealing money from a drug lord. You don’t lie and make things so much worse by running away and putting those that are trying to help you in danger by not being upfront about everything. I was also not cool with the way that she kept throwing her underage self at Dingo who was trying so hard to do the right thing by keeping his distance at the same time that he was trying to help protect her from the bad guys. Maddie annoyed the shit out of me at every turn in this book. I never quite warmed up to her and that sucked.

Shayla’s internal dialogue she had with Harry. It’s one thing to talk to yourself in your head or to even have conversations with your made up character in your head but the amount of times that Shayla shushed Harry out loud made me roll my eyes all over the damn place. I wanted to shake Shayla and tell her to stop acting like fucking weirdo, especially cause I thought she was too old to be acting the way that she was.

The earthquake. As someone who grew up in Southern California and is used to the earthquakes that we have down here, the whole earthquake scene just didn’t feel authentic to me. Peter did entirely too much and the earth shook for too long and I was reading that scene like, nope…that wouldn’t happen, there’s not enough time for all of this to happen. We’ve never had an earthquake that long and sure it’s all explained away but nope, I didn’t buy it.

There are more things that I was frustrated with but those were the main ones. I wasn’t a big fan of the romance between Peter and Shayla because they were too old to act the way they were acting. The whole “OMG, does he like me? I’m so stupid. Why did I say that?” Ugh, seriously? You guys aren’t 16 and in high school, so stop acting like you are. You’re a freaking Navy SEAL, Peter…open your mouth and tell Shayla how you feel about her. Same with Shayla. She wrote romance novels for a living for crying out loud. If you can write steamy love scenes and dialogue featuring a whole lot of “I love you’s” than you should be able to tell the man that you love how you feel and stop dodging what was really going on between you two.

I will say that even though there were things that annoyed me, I still enjoyed being in the Troubleshooters world again. It was good to see Izzy and Eden again and to hear about Lopez and Jenk and everybody else that was brought up in this book. Izzy is my favorite hero of the newer generation of SEALs so I loved, loved, loved seeing him again. I love his personality and he hasn’t changed a bit since his book. He’s still freaking awesome.

Overall, the romance kind of fell flat for me and the heroine got on my nerves with her inner dialogue crap and the earthquake didn’t feel right to me at all but I loved seeing the SEAL team come together and be there for one of their own. I loved how they juggled their jobs on the base with being there for Peter and helping out any way that they can. I loved hearing the Navy slang again and even though this isn’t my favorite book in the series, it’s still good.

"Suzanne Brockmann has taken romantic suspense by storm with her action-packed thrillers. Now she has written the most gripping novel of her career-an unforgettable story of an explosive hostage situation in which two people are caught between the call of duty and the lure of destiny."Her passion is flying. As one of the best helicopter pilots in the naval reserves, Lieutenant Teri Howe is strong, dedicated, and highly skilled-until a past mistake surfaces, jeopardizing everything she's worked for. Rock steady Senior Chief Stan Wolchonok has made a career of tackling difficult challenges. So it's no surprise when he comes to Teri's aid, knowing that his personal code of honor-and perhaps his heart-will be at risk. But when a jet carrying an American senator's daughter is hijacked, Stan's unflinching determination and Teri's steadfast courage are put to the ultimate test. The rescue mission will be daring and dangerous. But somewhere between peril and resolution, the line between friends and lovers begins to blur, pushing both their lives "over the edge." . . .

*****As part of our 10 year anniversary celebration, we’ll be re-posting old reviews that make us cringe, laugh or sigh all over again.

This review was originally posted on May 27, 2009.

This is my May read for Nath’s Re-read Challenge. It’s my absolute favorite book in the Troubleshooters series by Suzanne Brockmann. I picked it for this month’s read because it’s been a long time since I’ve done a reread of this one. Too long, in fact.

This book is about Stan Wolchonok, the Senior Chief of the Navy SEALs Team 16 and helicopter pilot, Teri Howe. This is an early Troubleshooters story where there was still that secondary historical military story going on and in this story we get Annabet and Hershel’s story. Though that wasn’t my favorite of the historical military secondary stories, I didn’t think it was that bad. Her whole connection to Stan seemed kind of forced to me but other than that, this book was damn near perfect for me…even after all these many years since I’ve read this story for the first time.

This book showcased everything I love about this Navy Seal team. The comraderie between each of the different men on this team plays out so nicely and I can’t help but love them all. The way that they trust each other and work well with each other never ceases to make my heart go pitter patter in my chest. I just love me some strong, sexy men and there is a great many of them on this team alone.

This is the story where the story of Sam and Alyssa takes off, this is where your emotions where these two are concerned gets trampled on and your heart gets ripped out of your chest but you won’t be able to help cheer these two on. It was so nice to see these two before they get married. To see these two fight their attraction, face their attraction and battle their attraction is my very favorite thing about this entire series. It’s their love that kept me captivated with each and every book in this series.

Suzanne Brockmann does a fantabulous job of writing different storylines in one book and just making it work. Reading about Max and Gina, Sam and Alyssa, Annabet and Hershel didn’t take away from my love of Stan and Teri. I thought Suz did a marvelous job balancing each of these storylines to make a well rounded story and she excelled at keeping me at the edge of my seat. My heart was backed up in my throat and reading this book this time around shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was for me because I read this book already, more than once and yet still I was shocked, I was joyful and I was entertained.

Stan was a fabulous hero and when he got up on that stage and sang his heart out to You Make Me Feel Like a Woman, I laughed because only Stan could get up there and have the balls to sing that frickin’ song. Teri was a great heroine, the way that she bulldozed her way into making Stan accept their attraction and the singleminded way she went after him had me cheering her on throughout this entire story. It was nice to revisit these characters again because we don’t see too much of them in the series now, I miss these guys and I loved this story all the more after finishing it this weekend. It was a good book then and a great book now. I love this frickin book and if you haven’t read this book yet, or even started this series? What are you waiting for? This book is the shit and you should be reading it!

The best quote EVER is in this book, from my lover of all lovers, Sam f*cking Starrett:

He looked up, directly at Stan. “Will you please f*^&*%^ go and f**^&% get me a real f**%^&* World Airlines 747, Senior Chief? Right f**^&%* now?”

In a remote, frozen corner of New Hampshire, a Navy SEAL team and the elite security experts of Troubleshooters Incorporated are going head-to-head as fierce but friendly rivals in a raid-and-rescue training exercise. Despite the frigid winter temperatures, tension smolders between SEAL Petty Officer Mark Jenkins and former cop turned Troubleshooter Lindsey Fontaine after an impulsive night of passion goes awry. And then suddenly Tracy Shapiro, the Troubleshooters' new receptionist, vanishes while playing the role of hostage during a mock rescue operation.

Teaming up with the FBI to launch a manhunt in the treacherous wilderness, Jenk and Lindsey must put aside their feelings as a record snowstorm approaches, dramatically reducing any hope of finding Tracy alive. The trail is colder than the biting New England climate until a lucky break leads to a horrifying discovery - a brutally murdered young woman wearing the jacket Tracy wore when she disappeared. Suddenly there is a chilling certainty that Tracy has fallen prey to a serial killer - one who knows the backwoods terrain and who doesn't play by the rules of engagement.

In a race against time, a raging blizzard, and a cunning opponent, Jenk and Lindsey are put to the ultimate test. Risking everything, they must finally come together in a desperate attempt to save Tracy - and each other.

Mark Jenkins and Lindsey Fontaine. I remember this book fondly but what’s weird is that I remember mostly that I loved the heck out of Izzy Zanella in this book. Ha! Poor Jenkins.

Anyway, SEAL Team Sixteen and the Troubleshooters Inc. folks are going head to head in a mock training exercise. Competition is fierce and both sides want to win but when their fake hostage Tracy Shapiro goes missing, their friendly competitive training operation gets thrown to the wayside because…shit gets real.

Jenkins and Lindsey are battling wits and feelings after an unexpected night together but Lindsey is adamant about shutting that shit down. She wants nothing to do with a relationship and what should have been a whole lot of sexual tension, was actually bogged down with too much shit that I wanted to beat out of Lindsey.

This wasn’t my favorite book in the Troubleshooters series but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. There’s a whole bunch of Troubleshooters goodness in the form of seeing everyone from the team (old and new) and I really liked seeing what everyone was up to.

As much as I enjoyed this book, I still felt like Jenks was jipped because it was Izzy that stole the story for me. Completely stole Jenk’s thunder. I was much more interested in what he was up to and even though I know who he ends up with, I still low key wanted him to hook up with Tracy.

Lindsey bickered her way through this story and at first, Jenk just kind took it with his tail between his legs and it drove me crazy because I wanted him to be more like Sam and Wildcard and freaking fight her back but I never felt like that was Jenk’s style, which is probably why he’s not one of my favorite Troubleshooters series. Lindsey got on my nerves a lot but in the end, I believed in her feelings for Jenk and I was glad that they got their shit together long enough to own up to their feelings for each other. Jenk came a long way in this book and I liked him a lot better in the end.

My favorite part of this book was seeing everyone again. The older characters meeting up with the new characters and all banding together to fight the bad guys. I want more of this. I miss these guys. Still, solid book for me.

Grade: 4 out of 5

This book is available from Ballantine. You can purchase it here or here in e-format.

In this pulse-pounding prequel to the Night Sky series by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann and her daughter Melanie Brockmann, Skylar has her first brush with Destiny. She’s about to meet a boy who will change her life—and a girl who wants to end it.

I know her.Know her from inside the dreams. Inside those terrible, murderous, bloody dreams. I’ve heard her-screaming, her voice mixing in an awful chorus with all those other girls. Little girls.

Please, God.
That’s what one of the little girls keeps saying, in the dream that is not just a dream. Please, God.
But I know better. There’s no escaping this fate. This is destiny.
I must kill Skylar.

Skylar Reid is the new girl at school. Her mom just moved them to Florida—aka The Land of the Living Dead where the average age of her new neighbors was seventy-five—to start over. Skylar is not a fan of the change or her total lack of friends. Until she meets Calvin, a funny, sarcastic boy who doesn’t let being in a wheelchair stop him from verbally shredding their preppy classmates. Skylar’s just about to decide her new school’s not a total loss when an odd girl wearing an oversized trench coat in the murderous Southern heat declares, “You’re one of us.” And then tries to kill her.

This is the prequel to Night Sky, the new series by Suzanne Brockmann and her daughter, Melanie. Suzanne Brockmann has written one of my favorite series so when I heard she was writing a paranormal YA with her daughter, I was intrigued.

This novella introduces Skylar Reid, the new girl in school. She’s struggling to fit in and make new friends but when she makes friends with the school outcast, Calvin, things are looking up until lives are threatened and Skylar tries to keep things from going to shit.

I thought this short story did a great job of introducing Brockmann’s new series and it was filled with everything that makes a great suspense novel, great. Skylar shows a lot of promise, something that I’m looking forward to reading about in the coming books. I think this is a great new avenue to get some Brockmann goodness and like always, she delivers a compelling story with a cast of characters that aren’t easy to forget. I’m definitely intrigued for more and am looking forward to reading more.

Grade: 4 out of 5

This book is available from Sourcebooks Fire. You can purchase it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was surprised to find out that Suz co-wrote a Young Adult book with her daughter Melanie. Now, I love me some Suz Brockmann and some YA books so I’m super excited to read this one.

Here’s the summary:

Sixteen-year-old Skylar Reid is thrown into a strange world when she discovers that she has unique telekinetic and telepathic powers. After Sasha, the child she babysits, is kidnapped and believed to be murdered, Sky and her best friend Calvin are approached by Dana, a mysterious girl who has super-abilities similar to Sky’s. With the help of Dana and her sidekick Milo, the four teens embark on a quest to discover who killed Sasha, and to bring the killers to justice.

With Dana as Skylar’s surly and life-toughened mentor, Sky attempts to harness her powers to aid them in their quest. Complicating an already complex relationship with the older girl, Sky starts to fall for the dangerously handsome and enigmatic Milo – and begins to suspect that the attraction is mutual. But then Sky realizes that Sasha might still be alive, and the unlikely foursome’s mission becomes one of search and rescue, pitting the heroic teens against a very deadly enemy.

This one sounds like a good one. I’m completely on board with reading this one so I’m sure you’ll see my review of this book on the blog. The cover is pretty nifty as well, check it out:

But that’s not all. Suz and Melanie are releasing a free novella, DANGEROUS DESTINY on August 26th so be on the look out for that. Night Sky releases on October 7, 2014.

Lots of goodness going on in this post. This is what I look like right now:

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